


Meeting at Sunset

by aparticularbandit, only_freakin_donuts



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, student/student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:41:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29474142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aparticularbandit/pseuds/aparticularbandit, https://archiveofourown.org/users/only_freakin_donuts/pseuds/only_freakin_donuts
Summary: Rose doesn't want roommates.  She doesn't really want suitemates either, but Sunset University's dorms don't really allow for that.  When her single unit is matched with another single unit, she hopes that her new neighbor is just as reserved and private as she is, but what happens when that neighbor turns out to be feisty, loud, and extremely enthusiastic?Student/Student College AU.
Relationships: Jane Ramos/Petra Solano, Luisa Alver/Rose Solano
Comments: 11
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Head's up that idk if I will finish this or not - I've got...a couple? more? chapters? - one already roughed out and one started on. I originally started this for the Neighbors prompt for Roisa Week last year and ended up going in an entirely different direction with that, so...backlog. I've been trying to do a lot of writing on the soulmate timer au, so that's.... I'm reaching into backlog, basically, and idk if I will get back to this and finish it.
> 
> BUT.
> 
> I've started JTV again, and there are ideas bubbling, and I'm actually kind of excited about the idea of a Rose/Luisa/Susanna/JR/Petra conglomerate SO. We'll see????

Dorm rooms seemed so _empty_ when you first moved in.

For some people, empty was a good thing, because it meant that they could leave their own unique mark on the room. Of course, they weren’t allowed to _paint_ or do anything _permanent_ to the room, since they didn’t own it and the schools did not look appreciatively on that sort of thing (because some people wouldn’t necessarily like the changes they made and most people didn’t want to do all of that repainting and reconfiguring and etc. before they moved out – and schools liked _unity_ where their dorm rooms were concerned)—

Rose looked at the empty room and saw an empty room. That was all.

It had the same two loft beds with the desk underneath them that every dorm room on campus had, the same two dressers with three drawers each, the same solitary window and singular door leading to an interconnected bathroom. On the other side of the bathroom, the other dorm would look exactly the same, except flipped. Two beds, two desks, two dressers, one window. There was a full-length mirror on the outside of the bathroom door already – a unique feature of this particular dorm that wasn’t found in the one she’d lived in last year (with three roommates and a bigger bathroom). They’d stuck her in one of the corner rooms last year – it had been a special kind of horrible that involved absolutely no privacy whatsoever and a lot of loud interrogations and “roommate bonding” over television shows that she didn’t watch and movies that didn’t interest her and boys that were always unattractive.

Suffice to say that she was _not_ still in contact with her ex-roommates. They hadn’t really gotten along.

Rose heaved a sigh as she dropped the first of what amounted to three large bins in her room. She had three large bins (clothes, decorations, and appliances), two medium sized bins (shoes, bedding), and an assortment of smaller bins (school books, law books, general books, jewelry, etc.); each of the bins fit nicely inside of the others so that she could hide them away in the top of the singular closet (that she had not had access to last year because it had belonged to Sally Forthwright, and as much as she _could_ have won that fight, it simply wasn’t worth it).

The benefit of all those extra hours over the summer and the shift from a bigger, more expansive room to this one meant that she had just enough to cover the costs of buying out an entire room and avoiding the whole _roommate_ situation. It was more expensive. It was _definitely_ more expensive. But it was worth it for her sanity.

Unfortunately, she could not control her neighbors. Hopefully _neighbor_. The fewer people she had to share the bathroom with – the fewer _schedules_ she had to learn to keep up with – the better. Rose could avoid everyone else in the entire dorm, but she couldn’t avoid her suitemate, as much as she might want to. But they had their own rooms. That would be fine.

Rose looked around the room again, tapping one long finger against her chin, considering. She shoved the first of her large bins into her closet ahead of time; she had some furniture rearranging to do before she started bringing everything else up.

* * *

She didn’t know when she expected her new suitemate to arrive.

Suitemate _singular_ – she’d made sure to check the outside of the door when she left for her second bin. They were still in the dorms, which meant that their hall mom (or hall dad, since it was a co-ed dorm) had plastered their doors with a bright and shiny new nameplate made out of cardboard and coloring paper and a little bit of twine. Hers was a picture of one of those stupid cartoon ponies all colored in with the wrong colors and her name written off to the side in a bright, blinding reddish-pink; she had ripped it down as soon as she saw it, and it now claimed the first spot in her trashcan. Her suitemate’s was a mermaid with light brown skin and wavy dark brown hair, with hazel eyes, and a tail of pastel blue and pink scales – and the name _Luisa_ emblazoned along the sun in all caps.

Singular suitemate meant only one schedule to deal with and only one other person to have to keep in contact with at any given point in time who wasn’t someone she’d specifically chosen as part of her study group or major or _whatever_. It was a good lower common denominator, putting two of the students who didn’t want roommates next to each other. It meant that the school was at least paying attention to who wanted their privacy, unlike last time. That was a bonus.

If she was honest with herself, Rose expected her new suitemate to move in early in the morning, the same as she had. Okay, maybe not _exactly_ the same as she had because she was extraordinarily early, an earliness born of an inability to stay asleep for very long, a certain kind of insomnia that played into her normal desire to wake up early anyway. She might not have been raised in a barn, but she still woke up at sunrise surely as the rooster crowed. Not that there was any crowing rooster on campus – and if there was, it was on the other side of campus with the agriculture majors. Far away from her.

So, no, she didn’t expect her new neighbor to get there as promptly as she did, as soon as the dorms opened and allowed for students to move in (and, honestly, Rose had been there earlier, sitting on the porch swing just outside of the dorm’s front door, one leg crossed over the other and a book in her hand until they had taken pity on her and allowed her to move in). There hadn’t been any other students at the dorm for _at least_ an hour after she was, and that was the way she liked it.

But noon came around, and there was still no suitemate.

Noon and then one o’clock and then two o’clock and then three and her new neighbor was starting to push the limits of _when_ exactly they were allowed to move in.

Eventually, Rose got tired of waiting – her room was set up to her liking, her decorations, scant as they were, were done, her clothes were put away, her appliances were set up, her desk was set up, _everything was where it should be and in its proper place for perfect space optimization_ – and decided to give in to her rumbling stomach and go find food. The dining halls might not have been _great_ , but they were open, and as much as she would use her own microwave and the basement kitchen to cook her own food, it was nice to supplement that with time-saving already cooked food that she didn’t have to worry about cleaning up after. It was while she sat in the closest dining hall with a cold plate of what was _normally_ not steaming hot but at least _middling warm_ pasta that she got a phone call.

_A phone call._

She _never_ got phone calls – not even from the woman who liked to consider herself Rose’s stepmother and who Rose had little to nothing to do with anymore, and certainly not from anyone who might consider themselves her friends. It wasn’t like no one on campus had her number; she had given it out to a few of her study partners so that they could text her for any study session that came up naturally. She wasn’t usually _part_ of the natural conversations, but they knew that she was useful for the minor points of law conversations; she’d made herself _necessary_ , even if she wasn’t the most well-liked person in the world.

Point being – her study partners didn’t _call_ her. They texted her. _No one called her._

And yet.

Rose pulled her phone out, flipped it open, and glanced at the number. She didn’t recognize it – her phone didn’t recognize it either, which meant it _definitely_ wasn’t a study partner – but she knew the area code as one of the ones in the nearby counties. Someone around here.

Her lips rolled together, and she answered it on the final ring.

“You have reached Rose Ruvelle’s phone—”

“ _Fuck_ , it’s the voicemail.” Then, from further away, so she guessed the girl on the other end was looking at someone else. “I thought you said she always keeps her phone on her?”

And from even _further_ away, “I said she texts back promptly; I didn’t say _anything_ about her always answering her phone.”

“You are _supposed_ to be my—”

“—who am I speaking with?” Rose finally completed, one arm crossing under the other. It wasn’t like she had been struggling to find her voice or anything like that in the slightest – there was her voice, it was right there, but sometimes there was more to be learned from listening to what was going on on the other end of the phone.

“Oh! Rose!” That girl’s voice again, loud and excited and bright, and she was sure if she could see her on the other end she would be wearing a huge smile. “This is _Luisa Alver_ , I’m your new suitemate, and I was wondering when you would be coming back to your room and if you were busy and if you had already eaten or would be up to going out for some suitemate bonding because let’s be real school doesn’t start for another few days so we have all the time in the world to get to know one another. I was thinking maybe drinks? At Miyo 34?”

Rose blinked a couple of times and found herself surprisingly glad that she was having this conversation on the phone and not in person. “How did you get my number?” she asked, as though she hadn’t already heard the conversation in the background and _knew_ she got it from one of her study partners.

“Oh, I’m friends with Susanna and she’s friends with Petra and Petra’s dating Jane so I’m kind of sort of friends with Jane—”

“ _We’re not friends_ ,” Rose could hear Jane saying in the background in that dry tone of hers, and she could see Petra squeezing Jane’s shoulder to try and get her to change her mind. She hadn’t really spent much time with Petra, but the long-legged blonde had occasionally dropped Jane off at their study sessions or come to tell her _it was time to stop studying, that was quite enough studying, Jane_ and dragged her not exactly kicking and screaming away. She had no clue who this Susanna person that Luisa had mentioned was, but that didn’t matter.

“Okay, so we’re _not_ friends,” Luisa continued as though it didn’t matter what Jane said, and Rose could imagine the girl rolling her eyes, even though she couldn’t imagine what she looked like at all – not quite a frat girl, she didn’t think she was a frat girl, “but _the point is_ I got in contact with my contacts and they got in contact with _their_ contacts because I wanted to get a hold of you before I went out because I thought you should come with me so we could get to know each other, since we’re going to be spending so much time being neighbors and everything, and it’s always nice to _go out_ together to do that sort of stuff instead of cold, clinical conversations in our rooms about schedules and who uses the bathroom when and rules and all of that rigid—”

“I happen to like rigid,” Rose interrupted, rubbing her forehead with one hand. She took a deep breath. Already she was beginning to consider finding a way to switch rooms around with someone. If her suitemate was this talkative, she might need to find somewhere else to live. Luisa already felt worse than all three of her other roommates last year, and she was sure when she got to know her that she would just want to talk about whatever super attractive guy she was dating or try to pick up guys at the bar if they went drinking and she wasn’t interested in that.

Of course, Rose was not going to explain over the phone in public to a veritable stranger _why_ she wasn’t interested in that. She didn’t want that sort of thing to get out if it didn’t have to. (There were other rumors about her. Whispers of things. Well, she was fine with those. They made people uninterested in her. Which was mutual. She wasn’t interested in them either.)

“Oh.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, as though Luisa were waiting on Rose to continue or explain herself. But she didn’t. Rose didn’t feel like she needed to explain – or defend – herself at all. She stared at her plate of pasta and slowly began calculating the cost of additionally trying to go out and get dinner with her new suitemate just to fix all this out.

No. Not worth it. She needed to save the money.

“So,” Luisa finally continued, breaking the silence, “when are you going to get back?”

“I’m in the dining hall,” Rose admitted, twirling some of the pasta around her fork and staring at it. It wasn’t like it was any good. But, then, who expected _good_ when they went to the dining hall? Probably the same people who hoped it was sushi day. She hated sushi day. In point of fact, she made sure to _avoid_ sushi day. “I’m eating. It might be a while.”

“Oh.” There was a pause before, finally, “Which dining hall are you in? We – _I_ – can come join you. And then we can go from there! I just thought, you know, first day back, you might want to eat somewhere else, but of course you’re the sort of person who goes to the dining hall. It’s cheaper, right? And some of that stuff is pretty good for cheap food. Are you at Carlisle Hall?” she asked before waiting for Rose’s response. “That’s the closest one, isn’t it? You probably went for close, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’m at Carlisle, but you don’t have to—”

“Alright, girls,” Luisa said, and her voice grew muffled as though she were covering the phone with one hand, “we’re going to go meet Rose at Carlisle Hall. She’ll be waiting for us there. She’s already got us a table and everything!”

“Wait, I didn’t—”

Rose could hear the groan in the background, and she knew that one well enough from their study sessions to identify it as Jane. “Luisa, I don’t have a dining plan, and that can get expensive for food that isn’t worth it.”

“I’ll pay for you, don’t worry, I don’t have one either.” The muffled sound faded, and then there was Luisa’s voice, chipper as ever. “We’ll be there in a few minutes! Just hold down the fort, and we’ll see you there!”

“Wait, wait, wait, Luisa, what do you mean _we—?_ ” But the sound cut off before Rose was finished saying anything. She scowled as she flipped her phone shut and shoved it into her back pocket.

So _that_ was what her new suitemate was like.

Rose took a deep breath and stared at the seat across from her. She didn’t even know how many people _we_ was. Luisa and Jane, apparently. If Jane was coming, Petra was probably coming with her. And Luisa had mentioned that Susanna woman, so she guessed that there would be four more joining her, maybe. That was more people than she wanted to eat with. She liked eating alone, unless she was studying while eating. There were study sessions like that – but those usually involved pizza and spending time in someone’s apartment, not…whatever this was going to turn out to be.

Her stepmother would tell her it was essential for her to actually find another table before the rest of them got here. They certainly couldn’t fit five people around one of these small little date-sized tables, could they? No one would have enough room for their food. They would all move to another table instead of sitting with her, and that would make her a horrible host.

But Rose stayed where she was. If they sat somewhere else, then they sat somewhere else. She hadn’t wanted them to come eat with her in the first place. Already she could feel herself begin to despise her suitemate.

_Bad first impression. That can be worked through, Rose. You’ve made some bad first impressions yourself. In fact, you’re all bad first impressions. That’s very intentional. Maybe this girl is just like that._

Somehow, she doubted that.


	2. Chapter 2

When Luisa made it to the dining hall, she wasn’t sure exactly who – or what – she was looking for. She dragged Jane in by one arm, holding onto the fabric of her jacket as gently as she could while still, you know, dragging her into the hall with her. “You don’t have to eat,” she said, giving her a perplexed expression. “I know you want to go make out with Petra, whatever, go on your date, but at least point out who I’m supposed to be meeting so that I can grab her to come along with us for drinks later.”

“She’s not going to go for drinks,” Jane said, brushing Luisa’s hand from her jacket and then brushing the arm of her jacket as though to get all trace of Luisa off of it. “I’ve known Rose for years, and never once has she ever gone to drinks with anyone else in our study group. I don’t think she knows how to relax.”

“Well, that’s what _I’m_ here for.” Luisa offered Jane her award-winning grin. (Definitely award-winning – she’d won something from one of those sororities during her undergrad. Nothing too terribly important, considering she couldn’t remember what it was now – probably because she’d been _really drunk_ because that’s what you do with social sororities – but it was _something_. That was the important thing.) “Don’t worry. I’ll get her to join. Just…point me in the right direction.”

Jane nodded once, and her gaze swept around the dining hall. Her eyes narrowed. Then she stepped around to one direction, looking around one of the pillars on the far right. “There,” she said, pointing to a redhead sitting at a table by herself. It wasn’t a big table, as Luisa thought she would have gotten if she’d suspected a big group joining her, but one of those little tables shoved up against the wall that really only had seats for three people at most. Usually they were taken by two people on a date, or by someone with a lot of books who didn’t want anyone to sit with them.

If she were anyone other than Luisa Alver, that wouldn’t have boded well, but she was Luisa Alver, and she was determined to not take that hint. As far as Rose knew, she’d only needed four other seats – one for her, one for Jane, one for Petra, and _maybe_ one for Susanna, if they were pushing – so it was a fine table. Just fine. Maybe a little small, but fine enough.

“Thanks,” Luisa said to Jane. “Now, go have fun with Petra. We’ll meet up at Miyo 34 later, okay?”

“Sure. Just don’t get your hopes up.” Then Jane strode from the dining hall.

Truth be told, Luisa wasn’t hungry. She paid the dining hall entry fee anyway, but she didn’t plan on eating anything. She scooted through the other seats and around the other tables before sitting promptly across from the redhead Jane had pointed out. “Rose,” she said, a bright smile on her face as she stared at her. “You’re Rose, right? I’m not sitting with the wrong person? I had Jane point you out to me, but she’s not really my friend, and she doesn’t really like me, so this could be a joke – not a funny one, but—”

“I’m Rose,” the redhead interrupted her. She leaned back in her seat, her fork tapping against her empty plate. So she’d already eaten. Well, that was a plus! “You are?”

“Luisa,” Luisa said, smiling. It was easy. She liked smiling. She was good at smiling. It was one of the many _many_ things she was good at. But probably the only one that was really appropriate for public consumption in a dining hall. Not that she really _cared_ if it was appropriate or not. She grinned. “I’m Luisa Alver. Your new suitemate. Neighbor? _Suitemate._ ” She pulled out her phone. “I called you? Like five minutes ago. I thought Jane and Petra were going to come eat with us, but Jane doesn’t like the dining hall food – and I can’t really blame her – so I told her to go take Petra out on a date and you and I could talk and then we’d meet up with them at Miyo 34 later. That’s not too bad, right?”

And then she grinned again.

Look – it wasn’t just easy to smile because she was good at smiling – it was easy because the redhead across from her was actually _really_ pretty, and she just…naturally wanted to smile at her. And she wanted _her_ to smile back at _her_.

It was a stupid cliché saying to assume that any woman would just look better if she smiled – or _pretty_ if she smiled, because there were a heck of a lot of women who would _not_ look better when they smiled and _did not_ look better when they smiled – and Luisa should know because she looked at _a lot of women_ and paid attention to their different expressions and knew which ones she liked better and which ones she didn’t and some women looked downright _scary_ when they tried to smile – but Rose….

Well, she would like to see Rose smile. At least once. At some point in time. Maybe not right now, but they would have an entire year together as suitemates, so she expected she would see her smile. Hopefully. Rose seemed like the kind of person who could smile.

Whatever the case, Rose was _not_ smiling now. In fact, her face was that kind of carefully crafted neutral that wasn’t anyone’s real _set face_ , but might as well have been. “You wanted to talk _now_?”

“Well, I wanted to spend some time together. Bonding and everything, you know, since we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other this year. We might as well be friends, and what’s a better way of getting to know each other and being friends than going out drinking together?”

“I don’t drink,” Rose lied.

Now, Luisa was absolutely sure this was a lie, even though she’d only just met Rose. _Everyone_ drank. At least a little bit. Didn’t matter how much they said they didn’t, _everyone_ drank. Some of them just didn’t like to go out to drink, and some of them didn’t like to party, and some of them were like her father and liked to go to those fancy wine tastings to try and prove how much they knew about everything, which really shouldn’t count as drinking but still did because it _was_ wine, which _was_ alcoholic, so _technically_ it was drinking, if you wanted to stretch it that far.

But, more importantly, they were college students. And while, yes, maybe there were a few people who didn’t drink for religious or dietary reasons, Rose didn’t look like either of those kinds of people, which meant that she definitely _did_ drink, she just did it in secret and likely only got a little bit buzzed and only then when it was really important. And that was still no reason for her to not come out to Miyo 34 with them. She could have fun with them even if she didn’t want to drink.

Although, to be fair, if she came with them, Luisa was going to buy her a drink. She _wanted_ to buy Rose a drink.

Okay, probably not the best way to be thinking of her new neighbor, and she certainly shouldn’t be trying to start something with her because they were going to be living together for a year and if they had a one night stand or got together and broke up that would make living together really, _really_ awkward. Even if they were just suitemates.

_Keep it in your pants, Luisa._

“Well, come with us anyway. You could still have fun.”

“I’d rather not.” Rose stared at her – it wasn’t cold or harsh or blank or anything like that, but more like she was watching her. Well, Luisa could be okay with being watched. “I don’t like bars.”

“Miyo 34’s not really a _bar_. It’s more of a _pub_ —”

“No means no, Luisa.”

Now she _was_ firm.

And there was really something horribly pleasant about that firmness coming from a redhead with her hair pulled up into a tight little ponytail with dark eyes sharp like glass behind thin turtle shell glasses and a sharp chin and sharper cheekbones and—

_Luisa, you are not allowed to be attracted to your new suitemate. You have access to the same bathroom; there is no way that will go well._

….

_Okay, you are allowed to be attracted to her, but you are not allowed to make it awkward, you still have to live together, keep it in your pants._

“Okay, so you won’t go to Miyo 34 with us.” Luisa continued to smile and leaned forward, her arms crossing on the table. “And it looks like you’ve already eaten, and I’m not hungry, so why don’t we leave here and go for a walk or something? Petra and Jane are going to be preoccupied for a while, and I’d really like to get to know you better.”

Rose sighed. “I have some studying to do.”

“School hasn’t even started yet. What studying do you have to do?”

“I’m planning on going into law after I graduate. I _always_ have studying to do.”

Luisa’s eyes widened. Pre-law. Got it. That made _so_ much sense. No wonder she was like this. But still, she grinned, and she settled a little bit better into her chair. “First year of med school. I probably have just as much studying as you do.”

“I doubt it.”

But Luisa just shrugged. “Depends on who your teacher is and how good you are at all of this.” Then she shook her head. “What’s your undergrad?”

Rose shook her head. “You’re not eating.”

“That doesn’t sound like an undergrad.” Luisa tilted her head to one side, still all smiles, but decided now was _not_ the time to push on that conversation. They could have it later. “And if you’re not coming with us and you’re just going to go back to your room to study, I can come with you. I’ve got _a lot_ of unpacking to do and—”

“I thought you were going to go out.”

“Not yet. I mean, yeah, I would’ve gone out now if _you_ were up for going out now, but I probably _really should_ get stuff unpacked and figure out how I want to arrange my room, speaking of which, what have you done with your room? Because I could really use some ideas. Allison was supposed to be rooming with me this year, but we had a _horrible_ break-up, and we decided – _she_ decided because it’s an absolute lie, I’m a _wonderful_ roommate no matter what backstabbing cheating ex I’m rooming with – that maybe it would be better if we didn’t room together. So she peaced out and got an apartment of her own and there wasn’t time for me to find a new roommate or for the school to find one for me so _lucky me_ , I get a room all to myself and all that extra furniture that I don’t know what to do with.” She scowled. “I’d rather not have either of the desks, but I don’t think you can get a room without them, and I think if I threw them out I would have to pay for them later.” Her scowl deepened, her brow furrowing. “I could _cover_ that cost, but Dad would _not_ be impressed.”

“If you don’t want them, I’ll take them.”

Luisa’s eyes widened, but it looked like Rose was just as surprised to find herself saying it as Luisa was surprised to be hearing it. Her grin returned – smug, deepening – and she found herself saying, her voice a little deeper, “I’ll trade you the desks for both beds."

_Oh no._

She realized her mistake almost as soon as it was out of her mouth. She was _not_ supposed to be flirting with her new neighbor. Well, to be fair, she probably shouldn’t be flirting with a lot of people right now, since she was fresh off of a break up, which really meant that when they were at Miyo 34 she was going to flirt with _a lot_ of people and get _really drunk_ and probably go back to one of those new friendly people’s places instead of trying to bring them back to her dorm room that was absolutely not set up and at all ready for another person to come stay with her.

She should push the beds together. That’s what she should do. Push the two beds together to make one big bed. And move the mattresses so that they cover the gap between the beds so that there wasn’t that gap there at all, which would make for uncomfortable sleeping. Maybe the mattresses wouldn’t work like that. Maybe she should just buy a new mattress to deal with that. Yes. Definitely what she should be doing.

_Anyway._

Her expression hadn’t changed as all of this went through her mind, and as she looked at Rose, she found that the other girl’s expression hadn’t changed either. Luisa wasn’t sure what to make of that. She didn’t even know if Rose _liked_ girls (it didn’t matter; Luisa was pretty good at getting most people to like _her_ , at least long enough to, well, _you know_ ), and here she was, flirting with—

“The entire point of having a room to myself was to have a room to myself,” Rose finally responded, scooting her chair back and picking up her empty plate. “If you have all of the beds, then I’d have to share a room with you, and I don’t particularly want to do that.” Then she tilted her head back to suggest that Luisa should come with her. “But if you want to get rid of the desks, I will take them. I should have enough room to put them somewhere.”

“Yeah?” Luisa asked, standing up as well. “How do you have your room set up so well you can take care of four desks?”

Rose sighed and tucked a strand of hair back into her loose ponytail. “I’ll show you, just as long as you promise not to steal my idea.”

“I’m not going to steal your idea,” Luisa answered with a huff. “Whatever _your_ idea is, it involves four desks, and I want _zero_ desks. _Obviously_ that is _not_ an idea I want to steal.”

Rose’s brows rose as she discarded her plate. “Suit yourself.”

* * *

_And now Luisa was biting her words because you know what, Rose had a really good idea for how to set up her room with all of the additional furniture and Luisa was getting ideas from her ideas and fucking shit—_

Luisa’s eyes narrowed as she looked around Rose’s room, forcing herself to scowl. It was intentional. She had to do that to keep Rose from thinking that she was already planning on stealing the ideas that she said that she wouldn’t. Besides—

“Where are you going to put two extra desks?” Luisa asked, spreading one arm out and gesturing to the room. “You’ve already got the two in that corner there, and if you put two more, they’re going to cover the window or run into your double bed.”

At least she could say she already _had_ the idea for the double bed before she saw Rose’s room. In fact, she and Allison probably would have done that anyway, if they had figured out how to have the two desks as they were. Probably put them back to back somewhere in the room. And with the two dressers on top of each other—

Well, she wasn’t going to do that. She was going to have hers side by side so that she could put a big television on them. That was _the best_ idea. And with the desks out of the way, she could add a fancy chair or two or a sofa or—

“If I raise the double bed, I can put them under there. No problem.” Rose gestured to her double bed, which was already lowered. “Might need a little help raising it again, but I actually like the loft bed better, I think.”

As she spoke, Luisa moved and propped herself up on the edge of Rose’s bed, her hands pressing into the horrible mattress. “Why would you like that better? This is _just_ the right height.”

Rose stared at her and rolled her eyes. “You are proving _exactly_ why lofting them again would be a good idea.”

“What, you don’t want me to sit on your bed? _How rude._ ” Luisa stuck her tongue out at the other woman and then grinned again. She flopped back on the mattress and sighed. “Man, I’m exhausted. Maybe I’ll just take a nap.”

“ _On your own bed_ ,” Rose replied, glaring at her. “ _After you get your furniture set up._ ”

“Right, right, yeah, of course.” Luisa sat back up again. She clasped her hands in her lap. “Here, let me help you loft these, and then we can move the desks in here, and then you can help me _un_ loft mine, and then we can go out for drinks.”

“ _You_ can go out for drinks.”

Luisa nodded, the grin faltering just the slightest bit. “Yeah. Me. I will go out for drinks. And I won’t bring any back for you because you don’t drink and you won’t go with me because you don’t drink and you’ve got a lot of studying to do even though school doesn’t start until next week and you can do all of that studying tomorrow and if you go out with me, we can study tomorrow together.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “Studying with you wouldn’t help me.”

“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!” Luisa scooted off of Rose’s bed and wiped her hands together. “So how do you want to do this?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added Belle as a co-creator because from this point on even the rough is using a lot of outlining and ideas she had for a student/student university au. So there's a mixed bag of what she planned out (a lot of it is hers!!) and my general. stuff. XD
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy the ride!!

Rose ostensibly _refused_ to go to Miyo 34, no matter how much Luisa tried to needle her into going. It didn’t matter if it was a pub or a bar – pubs were good for eating, and she’d already eaten; bars were good for _drinking_ , and she had no interest in drinking. Therefore, no matter what it was, it held no true purpose for her.

When she’d explained that to her new suitemate, Luisa had propped one hand on her hip and given her a strange look. “Spoken like a true lawyer.”

Rose had thanked her, of course, even though it hadn’t sounded like a compliment.

Relofting her beds and _un_ lofting Luisa’s and moving the desks had taken up all of the free time Luisa had before meeting with Jane and Petra at Miyo 34, and that wasn’t the sort of activity that really dealt well with schedules and when they would be free and who would take their shower when and all of that sort of thing. No, Rose wanted a real _sit down and talk_ conversation with Luisa for that sort of thing, although she was slowly but surely getting the suspicion that getting Luisa to stay in one place long enough to do anything would be the same as pinning a butterfly into place by its wings.

They had _agreed_ to meet the next day.

Rose was certain of that as she pushed into the bathroom about an hour past noon and through to the other side. She’d been up since dawn herself, taken a shower shortly after (with no sound of annoyance from the other side, no pounding on the door to be let in, no indication that Luisa was anything other than fast asleep), and then mostly stayed in her room, continuing to study. She hadn’t even left to go to the dining hall, instead popping a couple of Pop-Tarts into the toaster for breakfast (two was too many, but the second made for a good mid-morning snack once she drenched it with honey), starting the first drip of her coffee (she’d had most of a pot by now, although the scent still filled her room), and quickly microwaving a Michelina frozen meal for lunch (lasagna, which actually took a bit more care than people would think to keep the bottom layer from getting all hard).

But when noon came and went with no indication of life from her suitemate, Rose decided it was time to investigate.

Rose knocked on the other bathroom door twice before pushing through, being greeted by nothing other than a low _groan_. The room was still dark, with the exception of colored light filtering through the rainbow flag Luisa had used to cover her window. It turned the floor the same bright rainbow colors, making it appear like they were bleeding down the wall and pooling in straight lines. It was a little _garish_ , in Rose’s opinion, but she wasn’t going to say that.

The window gave her enough light to scan the room for her suitemate, who appeared to still be asleep, huddled in a pile of tangled blankets in the dead center of her double bed. What Rose could see of the sheets were a blindingly bright blue and covered with a pattern of different fish swimming in and around each other. She considered that _childish_ but, again, determined not to say anything about it. No point in frustrating the other woman by making a mockery of her decorating choices. At least her comforter was slightly better – a deep blue that bordered on black, considering how dark Luisa has been trying to keep the room.

“ _Luisa_ ,” Rose said, her voice not even remotely soft, instead chiding and frustrated. “Wake up. You can’t just sleep past noon on a school day.”

Luisa just groaned again. “ _It’s not a school day_ ,” she croaked out, pulling the blankets closer around herself.

“Might as well be.” Rose sat on the edge of the bed. “ _Wake up._ ”

“Ugh, _no_.”

Rose ground her teeth together, scanned the bundle of blankets, and then strategically pulled tight on one corner. The entire bundle collapsed, leaving a frankly _nude_ Luisa huddled into a fetal position, her head in her hands. She didn’t know what Luisa _expected_ from her, but Rose didn’t squeak, although a faint blush did heat her cheeks. “Wake up,” she repeated a third time, “and put some clothes on.”

Luisa scrambled for her blankets back, reaching out with one hand until she grabbed another corner and pulled it over to her. “ _It’s so cold and so bright why the_ fuck _would you do that to me?_ ” She covered her eyes with her other hand until she got the blankets pulled back around her, covering her head, and now the bundle began to _shiver_.

“Just remember, you _asked_ for this.” Rose moved from the edge of Luisa’s bed and strode over to the light switch, turning it on without even turning back to Luisa.

Even with the blankets over her head, Luisa let out a high-pitched squeal of dismay. “ _Turn it off!_ ” She pulled the blankets closer about herself, trying to hide from the light. “ _Turn it off!_ ”

“ **No.** ” Rose spoke as firm as she could, glaring at the blanket, even though she knew the weight of her stare probably wouldn’t make it through all of those layers. “You promised me that you would be able to go over our schedules today.”

“Can’t you wait until tomorrow?” Luisa moaned, poking her head barely out of the covers, her eyes squinting into tiny holes. “I have a _headache_ and it’s _bright_ and now is _not_ a good time.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “You have a _hangover_ because you _drank too much_ , and if you are as smart as you seem to think you are,” she began, scrounging about in Luisa’s mini-fridge and coming up surprisingly empty. She took a deep breath. “You’re an idiot. Hold on.”

By the time Rose returned to Luisa’s room with a bottle of water and an aspirin in one hand, Luisa had made it up just long enough to turn the lights back out before crumpling back into the center of her bed. The bundle of blankets seemed to move into a sitting position as Rose approached, however, and Luisa poked her head out of the top. “I don’t need those,” she whined. “It’s just a headache.”

“This’ll help with the headache, too.” Rose rolled her eyes. “You’re a _med student_. You should know better.”

“I _do_ know better,” Luisa whined, accepting the offered pill and downing it with a huge swig of water. “I know that when I eventually become an intern, I can just hook up to an IV and do that instead of this.” She makes a few chewing noises with her mouth, the squicky sort of opening and closing it in quick progression, and then takes another swig of water. “If you’re momming me, why aren’t you making me eat anything?”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not wasting food on you. Water’s free. Just keep the bottle and refill it in the faucet when you’ve finished it the first time.”

Luisa looked up at her with big, round brown eyes. “Can’t you swipe me into the dining hall?” she asked, pouting. “I’m hungry, and they’ve got to have _something_ to help a poor, hungover college student like me.”

“If you can’t make it through the bright lights in here, you’re _definitely_ not going to make it out there,” Rose jabbed. “We’re supposed to be going over our schedules.”

“Why can’t we do that over a nice warm meal?” Luisa whined again, her eyes growing even – _impossibly_ – larger.

Rose was used to the puppy dog eyes tactic. It rarely worked on her, if it ever had. She couldn’t remember a moment when it had, and it certainly wasn’t now. The more Luisa tried to work her over, the more firm Rose grew, her blue eyes growing icy, steely, _firm_ and _frigid_ , until Luisa finally looked away, pouting, arms crossing beneath her blanket, the bottle of water almost forgotten next to her. “I told you,” Rose said, voice firm, “I’m not going to waste food on you. If you want to eat something in the dining hall, go swipe yourself in. You obviously can.”

Luisa squatted down into her blankets again, her head barely poking above them and squashing them beneath it. “Will you come with me?” she asks, her voice soft and half-wounded. “We can go over our schedules there. I’ll be a lot better if I’m eating. That’ll be okay, won’t it?” She looks up, meeting Rose’s eyes again, the puppy dog eyes somehow even bigger than they were before – so big that Rose can begin to see green specks in Luisa’s otherwise deep brown eyes. “You’re hungry, too, aren’t you?”

“I already ate.”

Luisa huffed in dismay, pouting again as she broke their eye contact. “You don’t like me very much, do you?”

“I don’t like _anyone_.” The words were out of Rose’s mouth before she could think about it. They were easy enough to say; she had certainly thought them plenty of times. It just wasn’t very nice to _say_ them out loud. This girl might not believe her because they haven’t known each other long enough yet, but Rose was sure if she made the claim to any of her study partners, they would agree with her wholeheartedly. Rose didn’t like people; she _tolerated_ them. Some people were simply easier to tolerate than others.

She hadn’t decided on Luisa yet, but the girl was leaning into _intolerable_ territory like it was an ice slope she wanted to go sledding on.

“Everybody likes _somebody_ ,” Luisa objected, brow furrowing. “Even my stepmother loves my brother…or did. I think they still keep in contact. Dad would hate to know that if he found out, though.” She sighed and then winced again before grabbing the water bottle and taking another swig. “Please come with me,” she says, voice still soft, all trace of the whine gone. “I’ll swipe you in and everything. Then _I’ll_ be wasting food on _you_.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I don’t want you wasting money on me.” She sighed and shook her head. “Fine, I concede. I’ll come with you.” She slapped the side of the bed. “But you have to put on clothes first. I’m not going with you like that.”

Luisa blinked a couple of times and then looked at herself before her lips made a small _o_. She giggled. “I don’t think they’d let me in like this.” She grinned and looked up at Rose, waggling her eyebrows at her. “You think I could pull it off?”

“You want me to go with you?”

Luisa nodded rapidly.

“ _Then put some clothes on._ ”


	4. Chapter 4

For Rose, it would have been three minutes later, but for Luisa, it took so long that Rose was certain that the dining hall would _close_ by the time the other girl was ready. She rapped the back of her knuckles on the bathroom door; Luisa had closed it when she made her way into the bathroom to make sure that she was ready to go out and greet the world. She’d heard a _shower_ at some point, not that she could hold it against her. A hot shower could help with a headache sometimes.

Unfortunately, the door wasn’t _completely_ closed. It creaked open as Rose knocked on it, and she stepped back, covering her eyes with one hand. “ _Luisa?_ ” she called into the bathroom. “Are you about ready?”

“Yes, yeah, of course, yes!” The words tumbled out together all at once, and Luisa pushed through the door into Rose’s room, wincing at the bright light. She pressed a hand to her forehead and grimaced again. “Do you have to have the light so bright in here?”

Rose blinked a couple of times. “That is the normal light. Get over it.” Then her eyes widened – barely – as she took in Luisa’s appearance. “ _You dyed your hair?_ ”

Luisa grinned and spun around in a circle, her dark brown hair fading into a bright _bright_ blue from her ears down. “I did! Do you like it?” She spun around again, hair flaring out around her. “I just wanted a new change, and the blue looked really cool, and I thought—”

“ _You were drunk._ ”

Luisa’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t drunk when I got this done.” She rolled her eyes. “Petra and Jane were taking a lot longer on their date than I thought they would, so I had to find something else to do with my time. There was a hair dresser _right there_ , and she was free and didn’t have anyone taking up her time, and I had the money, and I thought, you know, why not?”

“Because it’s _blue_.”

“I happen to _like_ blue.” Luisa stuck her tongue out at her. Then she winked once. “What do you think? Other than the blue.”

Rose glanced over Luisa again and just rolled her eyes. “You’re dressed like a slut.”

Which, to be fair, was harsh, but Rose didn’t mince words when she didn’t feel like it. Jean shorts so short that the pockets hung out beneath them – white-washed, which highlighted the dark tan of her skin. A shirt so short that it left her entire stomach bare and exposed – it might as well have been a sports bra (and probably was). The head of a woman poking out just over the top of her jean shorts, hair floating across the surface as though she were hovering above the water. At least the mermaid didn’t have blue hair.

Or maybe it did, further down. Rose didn’t know, and she didn’t care.

Luisa grimaced at Rose’s words. “Don’t _slut shame_ , Rose. That’s not very sex positive of you.” She leaned forward, her hands propped on her hips. “You _are_ sex positive, aren’t you?”

Rose blinked a couple of times and then kneaded her forehead. “I plead the fifth.”

Luisa gave her a quick onceover and then frowned, one hand still propped on her hip. “You could do with a better sense of style, too,” she said, head tilting to one side. “The red hair ponytail and glasses look is _great_ , but you would do so much better with clothes that actually accent your form and not all of this _frumpy_ stuff.”

“I wasn’t planning on getting out today,” Rose said, gritting her teeth together, “but if it is _so important to you_ that I look fashion forward just to go with you to the dining hall, then I can change into something more acceptable.”

“Really?” Luisa asked, her eyes lighting up. She glanced around the room and moved over to Rose’s stacked dressers. “Can I go through your clothes and pick something out?”

“ **No** ,” Rose said, her voice a low growl, “and _no_.” She crossed her arms and glared at Luisa. “You begged me to come with you; you don’t get to decide what I’m wearing.” She pressed her lips together. “Now are we going, or not?”

Luisa nodded. “Sure, sure! Just let me make sure I have my schedule!” She patted her back jeans pocket and then grinned. “Got it. And my ID card. And everything I need for the dining hall.” She winked at Rose. “So we can go.”

“ _Great_ ,” Rose murmured under her breath, holding her door open and gesturing for Luisa to leave first.

Luisa started out of the room and then paused in the doorway, looking around at everything. “You know, I could probably help you decorate in here, too. Your room is really sparse. You could use some of that temporary wallpaper or better curtains or posters or—”

Rose shoved her out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her. “ _To the dining hall. Not playing with my room. Which I can do. On my own._ ”

“Is this about the flag?” Luisa asked, eyes widening. “Because I know Bobby says that flags are meant to be flown and not used as house décor, but I figured, you know, college would be fine, and it’s flying _in the window_ , so it should be fine, and I love the rainbow it makes on the floor, and—”

“Bobby _who._ ”

Luisa stopped flat in front of the door out of their dorm and turned to Rose with a blank look. “You have never seen Queer Eye.” She shook her head, one hand between them. “That’s not a question. _You’ve never seen Queer Eye._ ” She stared at Rose. “What planet are you from?”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “The one where people have a lot of homework and a lot of real work and don’t have time for shitty reality shows.”

Luisa gasped, holding one hand to her heart. “Queer Eye is _not_ a _shitty reality show_. C’mon.” She grabbed Rose’s hand and started back to their rooms. “I have to fix this. We have to binge an episode _now_. You can’t just live your life having not seen—”

Rose pulled backwards, and Luisa stumbled. At least she was stronger than Luisa was. That was a point in her favor. (All points were in her favor, in Rose’s opinion, but she wouldn’t say that out loud.) “We are going to the dining hall,” she said through gritted teeth, “and we are going to talk over our schedules while you eat.”

“And then Queer Eye?” Luisa asked, turning back and meeting Rose’s eyes with another puppy dog stare.

Rose glared at her. “That didn’t work last time. Do you really think it’s going to work now?”

“Maybe?” Luisa stepped closer, her flip-flops thwacking against the hardwood floor. “I got you to go to the dining hall with me, didn’t I?”

“I haven’t done that yet.”

Luisa’s brow furrowed, and she started to pout. “You aren’t changing your mind on me, are you?”

“No.” Rose continued to glare at her. “I’m saying _don’t push your luck._ ” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I will sit through an episode of Queer Eye with you if you can prove that it is in any way actually useful for my life.”

Luisa’s lips spread into a mischievous grin. “Oh, I can do that. And then you’ll see the entire series with me.”

“An episode.”

“ _Yeah, yeah, whatever._ ”

* * *

Rose wasn’t hungry. At least, she _thought_ she wasn’t hungry. She’d already eaten, which meant she didn’t need anything in the dining hall. And yet, she wasn’t going to swipe herself in without making the most of her now otherwise wasted money. The thing was, as the scents of the food came towards her, she realized she wasn’t as full as she thought she was. Her stomach grumbled lightly, and she placed a hand over it to quiet it.

Luisa gave her a look and a little smile. “More hungry than you thought?”

“No.” Rose lied.

They’d gotten there late enough that the lines weren’t long at all, and while Luisa went immediately to the stir fry station (which, to be fair, usually had the best of the food offered, except for Premium dinners), Rose checked each of the stations, trying to see if anything seemed particularly appetizing. The pizza didn’t. The pizza never did. It was so covered in grease that it didn’t matter how many napkins she tried to pat it down with, it _always_ still felt coated with more. Eventually, she ended up getting a cheeseburger without a bun and then went to the salad station.

Salads were easier and not greasy and actually healthy, something Rose doubted Luisa wanted anything to do with. And yet as she placed her food down on one of the tables then went back to get a cappuccino/hot chocolate mix from the drinks, she saw Luisa getting a salad as well – one that was impressively bigger than her own. She sat down with her mug, waiting for it to cool before taking a sip, and noticed that Luisa was getting _more and more food_. Stir fry and a salad and a big bowl of cereal (that looked like a mixture of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms) and a big waffle from the waffle maker _dripping_ with syrup and topped with whipped cream and two mugs of coffee and a cup of orange juice and another with apple juice—

At some point, Rose tried to stop looking. Point of fact, she was half-done with her burger before Luisa had even finished collecting her food. She met the other girl’s eyes as she finally sat down at the table and raised one eyebrow. “You’re really going to eat all of that?”

“ _I’m starving._ ” Luisa pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail with a holder she wore around her wrist, tucking a few strands that didn’t get in behind one ear. “I don’t know how you don’t have more.”

“I get what I want when I want it.” Rose nodded to Luisa’s vast array of food. “You won’t eat half of that. It’s such a waste.”

Luisa pressed her lips together in a thin line. “You’ve never eaten with me before. You don’t know how I eat.” She took a big gulp of her coffee and then set it down quickly back on the table, waving her hand in front of her mouth. “ _Hot._ ”

Rose rolled her eyes. “You have to let it sit for a little bit.”

“I think I burned my tongue.” Luisa stuck her tongue out and started to try to speak around it. “Does it look burned to you?”

Rose lifted her mug and took another sip. “I don’t care.”

Luisa shut her mouth, lips pursing into a pout. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m here to talk schedule, not to be _fun_.” Rose ran a hand over her class schedule, smoothing it out on one of the few free spaces left at their small table, then she held her hand out. “Can I see your schedule?”

“Sure.” Luisa reached into her back pocket and pulled her schedule out, handing it over before popping a bite of waffle into her mouth. She sighed with contentment. “This is _so_ good,” she says around the bite still in her mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Luisa’s eyes narrowed, and she swallowed before saying, “I’m not spraying chunks all over your food. I’m careful.”

But Rose ignored her as she penciled in her schedule over Luisa’s (and Luisa’s schedule over her own). It looked simple enough. Most of Luisa’s classes were in the afternoon, and most of Rose’s were in the early morning. She raised an eyebrow as she started to make marks for potential shower times, as well as putting in when she’ll be likely to get up and take hers. “How did you manage to get so many late classes?”

“They have us actually in the hospital some mornings. Next semester, that flips.” Luisa groaned. “I hate mornings. Either way, it sucks.”

Rose glanced up and met Luisa’s eyes. “They’re not actually letting you _practice_ , are they?”

“No, nothing like that,” Luisa said, tapping her fork against her bottom lip. “But they want us to sit in sometimes. Next semester is cadaver research – that’s why it’s in the evenings, not the mornings.” She shuddered. “I’ll need the bathroom after those. Long soak. That sort of thing.”

“You can’t long soak in a shower.”

“I can _try_.” Luisa sighed again. “Besides, haven’t you ever dragged something in to make your own bathtub? It is _so_ nice.”

“It sounds like a waste of money.”

“It’s _worth_ it.” Luisa reached over and placed a hand over Rose’s, stilling it. “You can use mine, if you want.”

“No, thank you.” Rose sighed and passed the schedule back over. “I think this will work for now. We should probably set up a weekly schedule for cleaning the bathroom and taking out the trash. It would be good to have those on a separate schedule from our own room cleaning for when the hall leader does room checks.”

Luisa blinked a couple of times and then scanned the schedule. “You…you actually really want to schedule all of this out?” She looked back up meeting Rose’s eyes. “I don’t think I can keep to that. I just kind of, uh, shower whenever I need the shower. Or _want_ the shower. You know?” She bit her lower lip. “And I clean up when things look too dirty or too messy. I don’t—” She waved a hand over her schedule. “All of this.”

“You can follow a schedule for your classes, can’t you?” Rose asked, her voice quiet and calm.

“ _Sometimes_ ,” Luisa admitted. “Schedules are _hard_ , Rose.” She brushed strands of hair back out of her face before retying them back into a loose ponytail – too many had broken out. “Can’t be too careful,” she said, waggling a finger at Rose. “Your hair isn’t as long as mine is, so you don’t have to worry about getting it in food or anything, but I’ve gotten _so_ much mashed potatoes in it before—” She laughed. “Of course, _that_ was from a food fight, so that wasn’t really my fault – or it _was_ my fault, but Raf started it, and Dad was so mad at us, and—”

Rose cleared her throat, cutting Luisa off before she could continue. “The schedule.”

Luisa frowned and scanned what Rose had penciled in again. “I mean, I guess I can leave the bathroom open when you need it, _I guess_ , but what if I need to use it? Like, to pee?”

“Then you hold it.”

Luisa’s eyes narrowed, and she pouted. “You’re _cruel_ , Rose.”

“I’m normal.”

That was a lie. It was one of the easiest lies Rose had ever told, and that was saying something because she didn’t really feel too terribly bad about saying them when she needed to or when they proved useful for her – like now. But this one was a habit. She’d been telling it to herself for years, and when she finally stopped believing it, she started saying it by nature to everyone around her. She was certain they believed it as much as she did.

Rose’s mug clinked softly against the table as she set it down, reinforcing her words. “Or you get up and you get in before I do.” She leaned forward, fingers templing together. “But I don’t think you’re the sort of person who will get up that early, are you?”

Luisa sank back in her chair, crossing her arms, her food already half-eaten although it didn’t look it. She had the tendency to pick bits and pieces from each of her plates – a little bit here, a little bit there – with the exception of the bowl of cereal, which was already empty, other than the chocolate milk she’d used with it. “I could stay up until you wake up,” she said, finally, meeting Rose’s eyes. “Don’t count me out.”

Rose shrugged, and as she did, Luisa reached over and swiped her schedule from her side of the table. Rose raised an eyebrow. “What do you need mine for?”

“I want to see what classes you’re taking,” Luisa said, flattening the schedule out on the table in front of her and scanning it as she took another bite of her salad. She wasn’t particularly careful to keep any of her Italian salad dressing from dripping onto the page, but it didn’t matter. Drips got close, but they didn’t stain the page. “You’re pre-law?” she asked, gaze raising to meet Rose’s again.

Rose nodded, crossing her arms. “Yes.”

“Then why are you taking all these extra classes?” Luisa tapped the page with her free hand. “You’ve got art and women and gender stuff in here. Aren’t you going to push through all of your business or history or philosophy classes and just get to the law as quickly as possible?”

Rose stared at her. “I wanted to make the most out of my scholarships possible. If they’re paying for everything, why not take as many classes as I can?” She stared at Luisa. “I figured double majoring and adding a minor would cover that. Two minors was too hard to fit into my schedule with the two majors, and I had enough time to turn art into a second major, so why not?”

Luisa nodded, smile twitching into place as she passed the paper back. “Why not?” She grinned. “I can help you study for your Intro to Women and Gender class,” she continued as Rose folded the page up and put it in her pocket. “Beck’s a bit of a tough bird, but she always liked me.” Her eyes lit up. “We should study together!”

“No.”

“Why not?” Luisa crossed her arms and stared at Rose. “I’ve taken the class before. I remember all of the material. I can make sure you get an A. _Maybe_ even an A plus. And it’s good suitemate bonding time.” Her eyes scanned her plates of food, and she picked up a fry that Rose hadn’t even _seen_ and popped it into her mouth. “I’m sure you’ll find more use for that than Queer Eye, but Queer Eye’ll help out, too, so. It’s useful. You _like_ useful, don’t you?”

True, Rose _did_ like useful, but she also liked her alone time – and a lot of it. From the little time she’d already spent with Luisa, she got a strong feeling that the more she allowed the other girl to spend time with her, the more time she was going to take. Already, she’d taken up more time than necessary for simple scheduling and was planning on taking more – studying, perhaps, had its use, but forcing her to see a show she didn’t care about (and, more importantly, didn’t have time for) would likely turn into an intent to have her see more than one episode—

Luisa could far too easily be more of a hindrance than an asset.

And Rose didn’t want to deal with her hindrances. She wanted the time to be alone, to recharge, to stay away from the annoyances that other people proved to be.

Rose took a deep breath. “I like useful,” she admitted, “but I have a life.”

“No, you don’t,” Luisa replied, resting her head on one hand. “Jane said that you only study with people and you don’t even spend time with them. That sounds like you’re a shut-in. College is about parties and _being_ with people—”

“College is about getting a degree and getting a job.” Rose stared at Luisa. She shook her head. “You’re a med student. You should get that.”

“And I live a little.” Luisa stuck her tongue out at her. She tapped her schedule again. “Women and Gender classes are actually a great place to meet people. That was where I met Allison a few years ago. Not the best thing now, but it was _great_ for a little while.” She sighed. “Something something incompatibility.” She rolled her eyes. “After three years of being just fine, you would think—” She waved a hand in the air and then nodded to Rose. “But I’m sure _you_ get that. You’re in Women and Gender, right? So you’re probably queer, too.”

There was a moment. An unfortunate one. A beat of one. Where Rose just stared point blank at Luisa and didn’t say anything, her jaw working, her teeth gritting together, trying to think of something to say and just not saying anything because there was no point. She took a deep breath, took another sip of her coffee, and let it clink on the table again.

“You’re not saying anything.”

“People who aren’t obsessed with their _whatever_ can be interested in Women and Gender, too,” Rose said, finally, staring at Luisa. “You shouldn’t stereotype people.”

Luisa rolled her eyes. “I have a pretty good gaydar, and _everyone_ in my classes set it off. Every. Single. One.” Her head tilted ever so slightly to one side. “It hasn’t decided about you yet, but I’m pretty sure you’re…you’re _something_. I don’t know what.” Her lips curved into a gentle smile, and she looked away. “But I understand if it’s something you don’t want to talk about or don’t feel comfortable with or if you’re still in the closet or whatever. I’m not going to, you know, yell about you being queer in public or something like that.”

“Says the person who literally brought it up in the dining hall.”

Luisa’s eyes narrowed. “That’s different. No one’s paying attention in here. They’re all focused on their own stuff. And there aren’t a lot of people in here anyway.” She yawned and covered her mouth with one hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret.”

Rose’s teeth gritted together so hard she felt her jaw pop. “I didn’t _tell_ you any secret.”

Luisa winked at her. “Of _course_ , you didn’t.”

Rose glared at her. Everything about Luisa was infuriating to her. That knowing sort of happy-go-lucky chiding that said she knew better about Rose than she even knew about herself. Her enthusiasm. _All of this food that she didn’t need._ And this? It shouldn’t matter what her orientation or _whatever_ was, and Luisa shouldn’t feel like she was keeping a secret when Rose hadn’t told her _anything_.

When there wasn’t anything to _tell_.

Rose took another sip of her coffee, waiting for it to warm all the way down, considering everything, considering _herself_. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been particularly interested in sexual encounters – she certainly _had_ – but that she’d been so busy and so focused on everything else that she hadn’t really had time to explore that. Luisa was quite right in guessing that she was more attracted to women than to men (who were boorish and ugly, words that she wouldn’t mince if asked and _hadn’t_ minced when boys at her old school had tried), but that was a purely _physical_ thing.

Romance? No. Rose had never fallen in love with anyone in her entire life. Truth be told, she was certain that she would be just fine having a one-night stand and being taken care of that way than having to deal with romantic entanglements. _That_ , she was certain, was what Luisa was most interested in.

But Rose just wasn’t interested in people. At all. Never had been and likely never would be either.

She took another deep breath and stood, picking up her empty plates. “Now that we’re done—”

“You’re not _leaving me_ , are you?” Luisa asked, looking up at Rose with big, round eyes. The puppy dog look again – the one that hadn’t worked earlier and didn’t work now. Her lips contorted into a pout. “I’m not done yet. And we still have Queer Eye. And—”

“You can finish eating on your own.” Rose stared at Luisa. “I can use the time to study, and when you’re done….” She sighed. “We can _maybe_ see an episode of that show of yours. But pick a _good_ one. If I don’t like it, I’m not going to waste my time—”

“But they’re _all_ good,” Luisa complained, staring at Rose. “And you have to start at the beginning so you can meet all of the guys. How are you going to know the _context_ if you don’t start at the beginning?”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “There’s context?”

Luisa’s eyes shifted away. “ _I_ think there’s context. But most people would probably just pick a random episode or their favorite or whatever and sit you down in front of it and that’s an entirely different experience. Besides, if I was just going to pick an episode, I’d want to pick whichever one you would like best, but I don’t know you well enough to guess at that. Unless I pick one of the queer episodes—”

“It’s _Queer Eye_ ,” Rose said, blinking. “Aren’t they _all_ queer?”

Luisa sighed. “ _Yes, technically, you are right_ , but not all of the people they _help_ are queer.”

“I thought all the people they helped were straight guys,” Rose said, blinking again. “Isn’t it Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?”

“You’re thinking of the original series,” Luisa said with a shake of her head. “The new team _does_ help a lot of straight guys, but they’ve helped women, too. And lesbians. And a trans guy.” She smiles softly and relaxes. “That one was actually my favorite.” She brushed a few strands of hair that had pulled loose from her ponytail back out of her face. “Other than the band teacher episode. Can you _imagine_ the guys coming to your high school and taking over for a week?”

“No,” Rose answered, still holding her empty dishes. “I _really_ can’t.” She shifted a bit. “I’m going. Meet me in my room when you’re done.” Her eyes narrowed. “Not that I want you constantly in my room. I just want you to let me know. Since you’re so _insistent_ that I see this show.”

Luisa continued to pout. “I don’t like being left in here alone. With a migraine—”

“A hangover.”

“ _A migraine._ ” Luisa stuck her tongue out at her again. “I can’t believe you’re really going to leave me by myself.”

“It’s either that or no Queer Eye. I don’t have that much time.” Rose sighed. “Besides, I’m sure someone else will come sit with you.”

“You don’t know that.”

Rose glanced over to the dining hall entrance, where she caught sight of a familiar blonde entering. “I know.” She’d had a few classes with Susanna Barnett off and on, but they weren’t really friends. True, Rose wouldn’t call _any_ of her study partners _friends_ , but she didn’t study with the blonde either. She just knew of her – and knew that Luisa had mentioned her as a friend the day before. They ran in the same circles. Easy enough.

As she started over and dropped her used dishes on the line, Rose tapped Susanna on her shoulder. The blonde stopped and met her eyes. “Luisa’s complaining about eating by herself,” Rose said, meeting the blonde’s eyes. “You’re friends, so you should go keep her company.”

Susanna raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you two were friends.”

“We’re not,” Rose said as she started off again, leaving the dining hall.


End file.
